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Dependence of light‐saturated rates of algal photosynthesis on intracellular concentrations of phosphorus
Author(s) -
Senft W. Herbert
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1978.23.4.0709
Subject(s) - photosynthesis , chlorella , algae , chlorophyll a , biology , population , chlorophyll , plankton , phosphorus , nutrient , biomass (ecology) , anabaena , botany , ecology , chemistry , cyanobacteria , bacteria , demography , genetics , organic chemistry , sociology
Specific rates of photosynthesis at saturating irradiances ( P opt ) by laboratory populations of Chlorella and Anabaena depend on intracellular phosphorus ( Q ). A hyperbolic model of the form P opt = P opt s (1− K Q / Q ) is used to describe this relationship for three measurements of biomass (cell number, cell volume, and chlorophyll a ). Chlorophyll a provides the most adequate fit to the model. When chlorophyll a is used as the measure of population size, both the maximal specific rate of photosynthesis ( P opt s ) and the subsistence cell quota ( K Q ) for Anabaena are much larger than for Chlorella . The model provides a conceptual basis for understanding the relationship between rates of photosynthesis and intracellular nutrients in populations of planktonic algae.